If your labor has stalled, there’s a slight chance — a less-than-1-percent-chance, to be specific — that your doctor will use forceps to gently coax your baby’s head through the birth canal, speeding up baby’s entrance to the world.

What is a forceps delivery?

A forceps delivery is a type of assisted delivery. During labor, doctors use a pair of forceps (which resemble two large salad tongs) to guide the baby’s head through the birth canal.

Although it’s rarely called for, your doctor may decide on a forceps delivery to speed up the labor — particularly if mother or baby are showing signs of distress.

When and why is a forceps delivery done?

A forceps delivery is done during the second stage of labor — i.e. the “pushing” phase — after your baby has already descended past the midpoint of the birth canal. If baby is still struggling to make his way out, and your labor is prolonged, your doctor may decide to use the forceps to speed up the delivery. Doctors will sometimes opt for a forceps delivery in the hopes of avoiding C-section.

Specifically, your doctor may decide to use forceps if:

Your baby needs to be delivered in a hurry because he's experiencing fetal distress

Your baby is in an unfavorable position during the pushing stage (the forceps can be used to rotate the baby's head)

Your baby is stuck in the birth canal

You're having trouble pushing (for example, you're exhausted or you have a heart condition or very high blood pressure, and pushing would be detrimental to your health)

How do doctors deliver a baby using forceps?

Before a forceps delivery, your cervix will need to be fully dilated and your membranes must be ruptured. You’ll also have to empty your bladder before the procedure and be numbed with an aesthetic (unless you’ve already had an epidural).

If necessary, you may also receive an episiotomy — an incision to the tissue between the vagina and anus — to enlarge the vaginal opening for the placement of forceps. Then, the doctor will perform the following steps:

Between contractions, the forceps are inserted one at a time around each side of your baby’s head, and locked into position. If your baby’s head is face up, the doctor may rotate your baby’s head so that he’s facing your back.

As you push during the contractions, your doctor will use the forceps to gently guide your baby through the birth canal.

After the baby’s head is delivered, you can push the rest of the baby's body out.

Are there any risks to the baby or complications with a forceps delivery?

Luckily, when forceps are used correctly by an experienced practitioner, the risks to the baby are low. These include:

Some bruising on the baby’s scalp from the forceps — though this usually goes away within a few days after birth.

Some temporary swelling of the baby’s head; it may appear cone-shaped at first, but it should also return to normal a few days after birth.

Very rarely, a baby can experience temporary nerve loss damage in the facial muscles.

Also very rarely, an injury can occur from the forceps themselves, including bleeding inside the head.

Keep in mind that there’s no evidence that having a forceps delivery has any effect on a child’s development, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

Are there any downsides or risks to the mother with a forceps delivery?

While safe to perform, forceps deliveries do carry some risks to the mother. These include:

There’s also a chance that the forceps delivery won’t be successful. In that case, your doctor may recommend a vacuum extraction or, more likely, a C-section.

How often are forceps used during delivery?

Forceps are hardly ever used during delivery. In fact, according to the latest statistics from a 2017 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, forceps were used in just .56 percent of live births in the United States. Vacuum extraction, on the other hand, was more common: It was used in 2.58 percent of live births.

Although a forceps delivery is safe — even more so than a vacuum extraction or C-section, in certain cases — doctors aren’t trained to use forceps nearly as much as they once were, and as a result, either don’t prefer to use them or don’t feel as comfortable using them.

Chances are, your doctor won’t decide to use forceps during your delivery, even if your labor has stalled. (Vacuum extraction and C-sections are much more common, as is helping labor along with Pitocin.)

But if your baby is struggling to make his exit or if you’re having trouble pushing, forceps can be used to help guide him through the birth canal and make his — much anticipated! — entrance into the world.

From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect When You're Expecting. Health information on this site is based on peer-reviewed medical journals and highly respected health organizations and institutions including ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists), CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics), as well as the What to Expect books by Heidi Murkoff.

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What to Expect When You’re Expecting, 5th edition, Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel.